The Shared Sky
by pika92
Summary: Shortly after Gohan's death, fourteen year old Trunks saved a wounded little boy in the remain of an aircraft crash. A very familiar looking little boy who Trunks had never seen before in his life. Little did he know, the addition of this child will drastically change the fate of his world. For the better or worse. Mirai Trunks' alternative timeline.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

One week. Seven days. 168 hours.

It has been a week since Gohan had died. His only friend and mentor had died.

Has it been that long? It felt like just yesterday he was holding Gohan's dead body in the middle of the destroyed road. What he had left to fight for, he wonder? Sure, his mother was still there, but that's it. At this point, it's easier to just bring his mother into hiding than fighting and get killed. Human was already losing, and he didn't have any obligation to those people, did he?

Trunks slapped himself, hard. If Gohan could hear his selfish thought earlier, what would he think? Gohan always taught him to protect humanity, because it's the right thing to do. And it's their responsibility to revenge the friends and family the androids killed.

But again, how much of Gohan's desire to fight was from revenge, and how much was it from wanting to protect humanity?

No matter, because Trunks himself would revenge Gohan's death.

''Vuuuuuuu..."

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something flew past, falling into the patch of forest just below the mountain he was sitting on.

"Vuuuuuuu...BOOM!" the thing exploded.

'It look like a crashed aircraft, but why would anyone use an aircraft now? Everyone should have known better to not be a flying target for the Android's shooting practice by now, ' Trunks wondered. Immediately, he flew toward the crash site to check if anyone survived.

As Trunks flew closer, he sensed a ki signature. It was considerably higher than that of the normal human. A lot higher. Trunks dropped to a stop. Hesitating, he expanded his sense to get the better feeling of the ki signature, wondering why he hadn't noticed it before.

No, it's not the android. That was the first thing his instinct was telling him. This ki was not at all hostile. It's warm. And familiar. A lot like Gohan's.

And it's weakening.

Without thinking, he shot to his feet and flew straight to the ki source. Gohan was alive! Gohan was still alive and Trunks was not going to fail him this time!

As he landed on the crash site, he noticed the aircraft in question to be much smaller than he original thought it was. There were broken pieces of black painted steel, machines parts and broken glass everywhere. If Trunks made an educated guess, it was probably a one-person hover car.

What Gohan could be doing in a hover car would probably be a mystery though.

Getting closer, Trunks let out a sigh of relief. While the ki signature was weakened, it was still considerably strong. That mean while the person maybe injured, it's not threatening to their life. Which is understandable. It would take a lot more than a crash to kill a super saiyan.

Just a bit closer... A surge of hope rose to his chest.

And then it disappeared, leaving a cold spot in his stomach.

A form was laying battered in the middle of the rubble. He was unconscious with some heavy bleeding from his head. His chest was rising and falling in uneven breaths. He was wearing a familiar yellow ki, his spiky black hair was stuck to his face with blood.

It wasn't Gohan.

It was a little boy.

A battered, heavily injured little boy.

Broken out of his disappointment, Trunks shot to where the boy laid, carefully scoping up the little form and hold it close to his chest. A life was at stake here, and he couldn't let his personal problem cost this boy's life.

'His head injury has stopped bleeding but he could still have a concussion. I need to get help for him right away.'

With that, Trunks shot to the sky, holding the small body to himself like dear life.

There is something strange, something important about this boy that made him not wanting to let go.

* * *

Trunks didn't understand was was going on.

He was flying straight to his home, where his mother was waiting, all the while not getting why he was doing this.

Usually, if he saved someone, he would bring them straight to any medical center or shelter that still running. He was a fighter and a rescuer, not someone who run a shelter center. It was less personal that way; and in this world of chaos, the last thing he wanted was getting attached. Gohan's death had already brought him enough grief for a lifetime.

One week after Gohan's death and here he was, already getting attached to a little boy.

A little boy he had never met before. A little boy who look and feel so familiar. A little boy who made Trunks felt as if he should have known him for a long time.

Landing in front of his house, he swiftly carried the boy to the basement, shouting,

"Mother! Please help me! This boy need help!"

"A boy!? Bring him to my room right away! I will get my equipment ready!" Bulma shouted back from her room, her voice worry.

While Trunks rarely bring victim home, Gohan sometime did, and sometime Gohan himself was the victim that need treatment. They have brought home various equipment and supplies from the abandoned hospital for emergency case.

As Trunks brought the kid into the room, Bulma was setting up the equipment .

"Set him on the bed, I will examine his injuries now,"she instructed.

Trunk did so, and as Bulma turned to the boy on the bed, her eyes widened in surprise,

"Goku!?"

* * *

Trunks was pacing back on fork in the hallway

After the initial surprise, his mother has kicked him out of the room, all the while mumbling that 'this have to be a coincidence'. Now Trunks had understood why this boy seemed so familiar. A long time ago when Chi Chi was still alive and Gohan's house in mount Pao Zu was still standing, Gohan had brought him over and show him around. He had seen pictures. Picture of Gohan's father whose hair was almost identical to that little boy. Picture of Gohan himself as a child, who clearly resemble the boy just one room away from him at the moment. He thought the boy's ki was similar to Gohan's but warmer and more innocent, more like Gohan's ki prior to his mother's death.

But it's impossible. The whole Son family was dead. Goku died from the heart virus before Trunks was even born, and this little boy was seven at most. Then perhaps he was Gohan's... But how? That must mean he had the kid at sixteen, which wasn't impossible, but it was really unlikely to happen. His whole life, Gohan was always either around Trunks to teach him or fighting with the androids. He was always serious in fighting, never have time for anything else. But again, back then Trunks was just seven, he couldn't have known.

The sound of door opening startled Trunks out of his musings.

"I have patched him up. He had a mild concussion but it's not threatening. He could wake up any minutes now." Bulma stated.

Trunks hesitated, and then voiced the question that had been in his head all this time.

"Mom, could he be... Gohan's...you know?"

Bulma nodded, "Most likely. The resemble was so uncanny so I have done some test on his blood. While I don't have the equipment to check DNA, these is definitely Saiyan in his blood. And considering Gohan was the only one that fit the ages..."

"May be it was someone else? What if there were another Saiyan alive that you didn't know?" Trunks tried. He didn't want to believe that Gohan could have a child and then abandon him like that. That would break the image of the mentor he idolised so badly, he couldn't believe it.

"Then maybe you should look at this, I think it's proof enough," Bulma handed him a tattered orange bundle. The boy's gi.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence that he has a similar gi. Maybe he learn martial art from somewhere with that same uniform." Trunk tried again, all the while knowing that it was too much of a coincidence.

"No, dear, look at the inside, under the collar," Bulma said gently.

And then Trunks saw it. Sewed neatly in black under the collar was a name: Son Goten.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN1:** Thanks for all the review and alerts, here is chapter 2. I had edited chapter 1 for grammar and awkward sentences, but since I'm no native writer, there still bound to be a lot of errors, so I apologize in advance.

I also have drawn the cover for this story and will upload the link to the full image to my profile later. There will be more story notes at the end.

**Chapter2.**

"So, what should we do now, mother?"

Trunks slumped on the chair beside the bed, stealing glances at the sleeping boy.

"We will take care of him. I hope you don't mind this, after all -"

"Of cause we will take care of him! He's Gohan's child, I won't leave him out these to die!" Trunks cut his mother off, outraged that his mother even thought that he would mind.

"It's just... You look upset, Trunks." Bulma gently pointed out.

"It's not because of him, mother. It's about Gohan. After all this time... Now I felt like I didn't really know him at all. Shouldn't we be the closest to family he had?" Trunks said, his voice getting weaker and weaker with each sentence, the last one came out in a whisper,"How could he hide something like this from us?"

"Trunks, had it ever occurred to you that maybe Gohan himself didn't know?" Bulma asked seriously.

"But... How? He had the Son name, you saw it yourself."

"It's just a theory, but maybe it's a love Gohan gave up to protect them, not knowing about the child. You know how the android had been toying with him, Trunks. He was never out of their radar," Bulma sighed, picking up the orange gi, fingering the collar.

"And from what I could see, he was well taken care of. Aside from his injury, there is no sight of malnourishment on his body. And as a mother, I can feel that his name was sewn here with a lot of love. Did you find anybody else in the craft, Trunks?"

Trunks shook his head, "No, these was no body, and I didn't feel any sign of life within three miles radius."

"Then there is still a chance that his mother was still alive, we should-"

"U...um..."

Both Trunks and Bulma stopped short and spun their heads to the bed, where the boy was stirring.

"How are you feeling?" Trunks gingerly hovered his hand above the boy head and asked in the gentlest voice he could mutter.

"Hurt..." The boy said, bringing his right hand up to poke the gauge on his forehead.

Trunk caught the boy hand and put it back on his side. "It would heal faster if you don't touch it."

"Sorry.." The black haired boy said timidly, glancing nervously at Trunks' face. His eyes, they look so much like Gohan, yet so innocent at the same time.

Trunk sighed, he was starting to feel old. "Don't worry about it, do you remember anything that happened?"

"Uhm... Who are you?" The boy asked confusedly.

Now Trunks felt like hitting himself. Imagining a child waking up from a traumatic experience and then interrogated by someone he didn't even know. Of cause he had forgotten to introduce himself.

"Well, I'm Trunks..." Trunks felt a slap on his shoulder ," ...and this is my mother, Bulma. Look, what can I say about this... We are you father's friends, so don't worry. We are friends."

"Father?..."

"Yes, your name is Son Goten, right?" This time, Bulma cut in.

"Son Goten? Is that my name? I don't remember..."

Bulma and Trunk starred, shock evident on their face.

* * *

"So he didn't remember anything?" Trunks asked as Bulma finished re-examining Goten and stepped out of the room.

"Not really, he still remember how to count, dressing himself and the basic knowledge about life. It's all the events in his life until now that he didn't remember." Bulma sighed.

"So I suppose he will be living with us from now on?" Trunks asked hopefully.

The lavender haired boy knew it's selfish, but somehow he felt relieved. He had always wanted a brother, someone with saiyan blood so he could feel comfortable to relate to without worrying about them dropping dead the next day. Gohan was one, but the man was so serious, so revenge driven, and sometime too reckless. He was forced to grow up too soon and became a hardened young man who Trunk couldn't relate to well. He knew, Gohan's family was dead, and no matter what Trunks and Bulma do, they could never make him feel at home.

Not with Goten, though. Trunks would do everything he could to be the great brother Goten will look up to, and make him feel at home with them. Just like what Gohan did for Trunk himself.

"Trunks, Trunks! Are you listening to me?" Bulma raised her voice, snap Trunks out of his thought.

"Yes! Ah! No, I'm sorry mother. What did you say earlier?"

"I said that yes, he would be most safe here anyway, and so can you clean up the room next to yours for him?" Bulma said, impatient.

"Am I in trouble?" A small voice asked, startling both of them.

They turned their heads to the door way to find the very object of their earlier conversation hiding timidly behind the door, his head poking out, looking worried. Apparently Bulma's raised voice earlier alarmed him.

Attempting to lighten up the situation, Trunks walked over to Goten, put on the biggest smile he could make and petted his head messily.

"No you are not, squirt! Mother just reprimanded me for getting distracted. Right, mother?" Trunks turned to Bulma, looking for confirmation.

Catching on, Bulma smiled. "That's right, you are a big brother now, so you need to keep a clear head on your shoulder."

"Big brother? Whose?" Goten looked from Trunks to Bulma in confusion.

"Yours, squirt. You are living with us from now on, and I will be your new brotther!" Trunks said, his smile much more real now.

"Welcome to the family, Goten." Bulma smiled, learning down and gave Goten a hug.

Trunks knew he had been right on one thing about Goten: His smile could light up a room.

* * *

The next day, Trunks woke up, feeling much better than he had in a long time. This was the first time he slept straight through the night without waking up with nightmare since Gohan died. Suddenly, he felt something snugged up next to him under the cover.

'That's right, Goten,' he mused.

Since the spare room was badly damaged and Goten still needed someone to watch over his injuries, it was decided that he would room with Trunks. He was pleasantly surprised that Goten was a very nice and well-mannered boy. He was very polite if a bit timid, address everyone with honorific, and even offered to help around the house. But the boy wasn't a pushover either.

He was reminded that Goten was still part-Saiyan after Goten demolished his TV along with part of the wall.

Trunks had put up a movie on the TV for Goten to watch, and Goten had punched right through the TV and the wall behind it when the Dinosaur was about to eat the hero. His mother, to his surprise, had laughed, saying that he had the exact same reaction to TV when he was a child.

"Ouch!"

Trunks hissed, turned to his side to find that Goten had sank his teeth into his arm. The tried to tug his arm away, but the boy mouth keep biting on him like a leech.

"Nuu… my chicken leg…Trunks…"

Trunks? Since when had Goten become so familiar as to call him in his sleep?

Finally managed to pry his abused arm away, Trunks tried to wake Goten up as the boy started to try eating his pillow instead.

"Goten, come on, wake up." He tried shaking the boy's shoulder. No result. The black haired boy was still chewing the pillow, Trunks was worried some feathers was going to come out.

"Trunks, watch happened? I heard your cry just now." Bulma walk to his door way, still wearing her night dress. Seeing the state Trunks was in and the bit mark on his arm, she laughed.

"Let me guess, he thought your arm was a chicken wing, did he?"

"No, it was a chicken leg, apparently. And can you please stop laughing to help me wake him up? I would rather not having to pry feather from his throat." Trunks crossed his arm, unamused.

"At least he didn't take off your underwear when you was asleep." (1)

"I will pretend I didn't hear that." Trunks blanched, not sure where that came from.

"Well, I bet this will work." Still smiling, she walked over to the bed, hovering over the still sleeping boy.

"Goten, wake up! It's meal time aleady!" She called loudly.

Much to Trunks' surprise, the boy shot right up, abandoning his saliva-damped pillow, looking around wildly. "Food? Where? Where?"

Bulma gave Trunks a hi-five then turned to Goten. "Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes, why don't you get dressed and ready for the day out?"

"Okay, Bulma-san!" Goten answered and jumped out of the bed.

Bulma smiled and left the room. As she left, Trunks could still hear her soft murmur "Ahh, it really feel like I was sixteen again."

Trunks smiled. It has been a long time since he had seen his mother this happy.

"Ne, Trunks-san, where is my clothes?" Goten asked curiously, tugging on the baggy shirt he was wearing. Because Goten's clothes was badly damaged in the crash, they have changed him into one of Trunks' old outfit, which is still baggy. As a kid, Trunks had always liked to wear baggy outfit at home.

Still, he could see that it's impractical if they go out. After the TV incident, both he and Bulma figured that it would be better for a demi-Saiyan to play out door and promised to bring Goten outside the next day.

"Wait a sec, I'm sure I have got something here." Trunks walked over his old drawer and started digging through it. Find what he was looking for, he threw a blue green bundle at Goten.

Feeling proud of himself, Trunks turned back. "It was my first gi when I started learning martial art. I'm sure it will suit you well," he grinned.

His grin faltered, however, when he saw the expression on the black haired boy's face.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked, worried.

Goten was holding Trunks' gi with shaking arm, his eyes wide. Then he clutched it to his chest like his life depended on it.

"Goten, what's wrong? If you don't want it, maybe I could find something els-"

"No!" The boy exclaimed loudly, holding the gi protectively in a death grip. Then suddenly, Goten's expression faltered, and he started looking around confused.

"Um…I'm sorry." Goten started, looking unsure with himself.

Trunks crouched in front of Goten, concerned. "It's okay. Just… what about my gi that give you that reaction?"

Goten shook his head, unsure "I didn't know, it's like I have seen it before, and I was upset that whoever supposed to wear it wasn't here. I'm sorry! I didn't know what came over me!" He cried.

Trunks put his arms around Goten in a comforting embrace, mentally storing the information he just heard to tell his mother later.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. Just… do you still want to wear it?"

Goten nodded so fast he couldn't even blind.

"Okay, get cleaned up and dressed fast, then. I could smell mom's cooking from here. If you don't finish soon, I will eat it all." Trunks ruffled the boy hair, grinning.

"Nooooo!" Goten shot to the bathroom in panic.

Trunks laughed, moving to the drawer to find his own clothes. He will need to talk to Bulma about the incident earlier, but that could wait.

* * *

Goten had big appetite.

Trunks have it, too, it's in their blood. But with the additional of another demi-Saiyan, he will need to stock more food soon.

Even in the destruction by the androids, fortunately human still produced enough food to survive. Like a blessing in a curse, since the android usually only appear city and places where a lot of human gather the most, farm and forest were not badly damaged. And for a Saiyan, with enchanted sense of smell and fighting power, it's not hard to find food, either by hunting or finding inventory in abandoned store.

He turned to his mother, who was happily watching Goten eat, occasionally pile more food on his plate. He knew that face. She had looked like that too, when Gohan come stay over. And given what she told him, he knew who Goten remind her of, and looking at the little boy made her feel young again.

Trunks turned back to his own plate and quickly inhaled his own food. After all it wouldn't do to leave the house hungry. He knew how Saiyan get affected by hunger, mainly based on all of the stories his mother told him about her adventures with Goku during her teens.

After all the food had been demolished, Goten was patting his belly happily. Trunks stood up and turned to the door.

"Let's go explore, squirt. You have to put all that foods you eat into good use now!"

"Okay, Trunks-san!" Goten shot to his feet and run out of the door.

"Hey, not so fast! Wait for me at the gate, okay?" Trunks called after him

"I got it!" The boy called back.

Turning back to his mother, Trunks' face turned serious.

"Mom, there is something I need to tell you." He started.

"What is it? Is it about Goten?" Sensing her son's concern, Bulma asked worriedly.

"Yes, this morning, when I give him my gi, he had got the strangest reaction. It's disturbed me. It was like…" Trunks hesitated.

"Like what, Trunks?"

"His reaction, it was similar to how I was, when I found Gohan… you know." Trunks clenched his eyes shut, turning his head to the floor.

Bulma turned silent, putting her hand on her chin in contemplation. After a few minutes, she started,

"Maybe, his amnesia wasn't just caused by head injuries. It could be caused by traumatic experiences as well. Whoever that gi reminded him of must have been greatly important to him." She turned back to him, her face serious, "Trunks, I want you to watch Goten closely. If he reacted badly to something, try to keep him away from it and report back to me. These must be a reason his memories was suppressed. It can't be anything good."

Trunk nodded. The expression on Goten's face at that time greatly disturbed him. It didn't fit Goten at all and he really didn't want to see it again.

"Then go to the little one, he must be very impatient by now." Bulma shoved him out of the door, her face relaxed. "And be sure to avoid the androids. Remember, you are a big brother now."

Trunks' eyes widened, he totally forgot telling Goten about the androids. "Crap! I have to go get him now!" Hastily, he run out of the house, worrying that innocent Goten could come across androids.

Smiling, Bulma turned back to her makeshift lab. After all, she still have an important project to save the world.

**AN2:**

(1)This is a reference to one of the first Dragon Ball manga chapter, when Goku took off Bulma's underwear to see why Bulma didn't have the same …certain body part as him.

Mirai Trunks' world was loosely based off the manga. Because ChiChi didn't appear in the manga, I assumed she was dead considering how bitter Gohan was. I didn't watch the anime and didn't know she was alive until yesterday, so this could be considered AU.


End file.
